Danielle, left, and Megan LaRiviere get ready for the day’s sales calls to promote Apple-A-Day, a service to local businesses that provides a weekly supply of 10 lbs. of fresh Washington apples in a small cooler, as a healthy-snack alternative. The entrepreneurial sisters are also students at Washington State University. Staff photo   

By RICHARD BURGER

If enthusiasm, determination, a sense of humor, and a willingness to persevere count for anything in the world of entrepreneurship, Danielle and Megan LaRiviere have a bright future in business.

The sisters have launched Apple-A-Day, a service that provides 10 lbs. of Washington apples each week and a small refrigerator to display them in, and promote it as a healthy workplace alternative to candy, chips, and cookies.

Danielle is a sophomore at Washington State University majoring in entrepreneurship, and Megan will begin her freshman year this fall, with plans to major in international business, “but that could change,” she said.

Danielle is quick to point out that her experience so far with Apple-A-Day has been considerably more instructional than her time on campus.

“I’ve learned more in the past two months than I learned in a year of college,” she said.

In any case, they agree that there has been a lot to learn and to do since they began to get the business ball rolling at the beginning of the summer.

On their “to do” list were the usual items: business phone, post office box, Web site, business email, business license, incorporating their business.

The length of the list became a bit daunting, even with all the conveniences of modern communication.

“We used online resources,” said Danielle. Still, she and Megan found the process “really overwhelming.”

Then came the company brochure, which was a project that more or less took on a life of its own, and not a very pleasant life, as it turned out.

What seemed like a perfectly adequate brochure with a first printing of 250 copies quickly began to present problems. 

They discovered that when it was presented to prospects, the printed piece somehow didn’t seem to explain what the service was all about.

“The first (brochure) didn’t get the idea across,” said Megan.

Changes were made and a second printing was done. 

Typos reared their ugly little heads. “Refrigerator” was spelled wrong.

The correcting and refining process continued, and progress was made.

“The errors kept getting smaller,” said Megan.

And as the brochure got more effective, the verbal sales pitch they made to prospects was also improved.

“I used to say ‘like’ a lot,” said Danielle. “Now I know exactly what I want to say.”

Though they rely on their Web site, phone calls, and sales materials to help reinforce their sales message, it’s the personal contact with potential customers that they enjoy.

“What we really like to do is one-on-one in person,” said Megan.

They always make their personal presentation as a team, they said, they have a daily goal of two sales, and they make their calls from a contact list they’ve prepared ahead of time.

They wear matching apple-red polo shirts with the Apple-A-Day logo embroidered in bright colors. 

Interestingly, the logo was created by Danielle when she was about 10 years old, in essentially its final form.

She said the shirts often elicit positive comments from prospects during sales calls.

Sometimes their daily goal has been elusive, but that hasn’t deterred them.

“I feel passionate about it,” said Megan.

Danielle said when begin their presentation, they don’t back off.

“We don’t stop until we get a definite ‘No,’” she said.

But, of course, what really keeps them going is the potential for a “Yes.”

“A ‘Yes’ makes our whole day,” said Megan.

Their business plan calls for them to have 50 of those, 50 customers who have signed up for their service, before they actually begin delivering the apple-filled coolers. 

If they don’t hit that benchmark by the time they have to return to campus, they have a plan in place to continue the effort, and they will have a business phone at school.

They’ve also joined the Yakima Chamber of Commerce and will be making a presentation during a new-member luncheon mid-month.

They also have their eye on the possibility of expanding the service beyond Yakima and the valley.

They are licensed in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. 

It’s the prospect of success that’s keeping them motivated, they say. 

Perhaps Megan summed it up best.

“What’s most rewarding is when I get excited about what could happen,” she said.

Apple-A-Day can be reached at 877-482-7885, or on their Web site at www.apple-a-day.com.